CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

The Summoning Sisters

“ALL THREE MEMBERS of the Summoning Sisters are rated amongst the top ten summoners in the world,” Kai said as they walked down the now all-too-familiar hallway.

Something big lay at the other end, and it wasn’t puppy dogs and daisies. It was the pit. The Pit of Insanity, the Destroyer of Dreams, the Breaker of Mages. If they’d had more time, Sera could have thought up a few more apt descriptors, but time was short. It was always far too short. In five minutes, she was going to be trapped inside that pit of a thousand titles, too busy to think up cutesy nicknames.

“The Summoning Sisters can summon just about anything, so be on your toes,” Kai continued. “And there will be fairies again. I’m guessing stronger ones and more of them. Duncan’s mortal failing is his obsession with outdoing himself.”

“I can think of a few more mortal failings,” she muttered under her breath.

She knew he’d heard, but he didn’t let her words derail him. “The fairies will try to mess with your mind, feeding you illusions both beautiful and terrifying. They’re not real. Remember that.”

She shrugged off his hand. “I’ll be fine. If the fairies annoy me too much, I’ll snap their wings off.”

“Sera—” Something hummed. “I want you to know—” He looked down and growled at his pocket.

“Your pants are buzzing,” she told him.

He cursed.

“Maybe you should answer that.”

He dug his phone out, glancing at the screen. “I have to take this call.”

“Be my guest.”

He lifted the phone to his ear. “Drachenburg.”

A voice—a woman’s voice—spoke from the other end. Kai turned and walked off down the hall, out of earshot.

“He’s a fickle beast.”

Sera pivoted around. Cutler stood inside the open doorway that led to the pit, leaning one hand against each side, pushing just hard enough to flex his muscles. Sera suppressed a groan. She didn’t have time for this shit. Not now. Not ever.

“How did you get down here?” she demanded.

“I walked across the pit.”

“And the guards just let you?”

He shrugged. “I bribed them.”

Of course.

Cutler looked past her, down the hall where Kai was talking on the phone.

“Do you think his other girlfriend knows about you?” he asked, his face the picture of innocence.

“It’s probably his mother. Or a cousin.”

“Her voice sounded…” His mouth curled up. “…sultry.”

“Then why don’t you go flirt with her. All you have to do is snatch the phone from Kai’s hand.”

“There is no try, beautiful. If I want something, I take it.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.” A rose, blood-red and as big as a kitten, floated toward her. “And right now, I want you.”

“Sorry, not interested.”

The rose dropped into her hand. There was obviously something wrong with his hearing—or his head.

“Have you ever made love with a telekinetic?” he asked, his voice as smooth as hot honey.

No, but I’ve kicked one in the head.

“It’s an unforgettable experience.” He eyes flashed. “I could bathe your body in pleasure.”

Sera coughed, choking on the building narcissism in the air.

“We could do it suspended in the air.”

What girl could say no to a romantic line like that?

“Or I could just strip you naked without ever lifting a finger.”

Sera snapped her hand to her shoulder, pushing up her sliding sleeve. “Keep your hands—and your magic—away from me,” she said, deep and low, letting the menace simmer in her throat. Just like the dragon.

Smiling, Cutler lifted his hands in the air, then tucked them behind his back. Magic flickered in his eyes like a rogue lightbulb.

She sighed. “What do you want?”

“To talk to you,” he replied.

“So talk. And make it fast. My match is about to start.”

“Sera…” His gaze darted past her shoulder. Whatever he saw there washed all color from his face.

She glanced back. Kai was coming down the hall. Every time his foot touched down, the floor shook. Rage, pure and undiluted, boiled inside his electric blue eyes, which had Cutler locked in their crosshairs. Magic lashed out from Kai like a whip, snapping and hissing as it electrified the dust in the air. The door to the pit quivered and quaked—then ripped from its hinges, smacking the ground with a resounding thump.

“Watch yourself out there,” Cutler said, giving her arm a soft pat before turning tail and escaping into the pit.

Kai stopped beside Sera, his steps surprisingly light and springy for someone who had basically just set off an earthquake in the hallway. “What did he have to say?” His eyes, still seething, followed Cutler’s progress across the pit.

“Nothing much. He just came by to hit on me.” Sera shrugged, aiming for indifferent.

Kai punched the wall, crunching concrete. Obviously, she needed to work on ‘indifferent’.

“I’m fine,” she assured him.

She rubbed the dust from her eyes, wishing that she’d never even brought up her suspicions about Cutler working for Finn. It had accomplished nothing except to make Kai grouchy. And they probably weren’t even true. Cutler, plotting and scheming for Finn’s evil organization? Unlikely. He couldn’t plot out anything more complicated than his next clubbing ensemble. And he couldn’t scheme his way out of an unlocked room. Cutler was harmless. Crude—but harmless.